Pianoforte-action.



No. 640,356. Patented Jan. 2, I900. L. H. BATTALIA.

PIANOFORTE ACTION.

(Application filed Mar. 29, 1899.)

(No Model.)

2021\2'05555 Nmzg vr A,

UNTTED STATES PATENT EEroE.

LEO HERLINO BATTALIA, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO MARTHA A.BATTALIA, OF SAME PLACE.

PlANOFORTE-ACTlON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,356, dated January2, 1900.

Application filed March 29,1899. Serial 1 To.71l,Ol1. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LLEo HERLINO BATTALIA, a citizen of the United Statesof America,and a resident of the city and county of Hartford, in theState of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Upright-Pianoforte Actions, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to upright-pianoforte actions and is somewhat inthe nature of an improvement upon the action shown, described, andclaimed in an application filed by me March 3, 1899, Serial No. 707,637.

The object of the present invention is, primarily, to furnish animproved and simplified upright action of a construction andorganization that will facilitate rapid repetitions of the stroke of thehammer on slight but rapid depressions of the key-lever when said leveris in an approximate full-stroke position and at the same timepositively obviate the blocking of the hammer and jack frequentlyoccurring in upright-pianoforte actions of ordinary construction andorganization irrespective of the force applied to the key.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in connection with thehammer-butt and jaok,an improved back-check, improved means forsupporting said back-check and for adjusting the same with relation tothe working end of the jack With which it is to cooperate, and meanscarried by said jack and cooperative with the back-check for positivelyinsuring a quick return movement of the back-cheek and hammer to theirinitial positions concurrently with the descent of the jack on therelease of the key.

lVith these objects in view my present invention consists in certaindetails of construction and in the combination and arrangement of theseseveral parts of the action which directly control the movements of thehammer, as will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of anupright-pianoforte action embodying my present invention and showing theparts thereof in their initial or normal positions.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of a portion of thepiano-forte-action,showing the hamm er-butt, back-check, and a portionof the working end of the jack in the positions they occupy when thekey-lever and hammer are substantially in mid-stroke positions or justbefore the repea-ting face of the jack is brought into cooperativerelation with the hammer -butt. Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2,showing the same parts in the positions they occupy when the jack iseffective for imparting repetitions to the hammer; and Fig. 4 is asectional View taken on dotted line, XX, Fig. 2, and showing the partsat the right of said line.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of thedrawings.

The pianoforte-action constituting the sub ject-matter of the presentinvention comprises, in addition to the string 2, balance or center rail3, hammer-stem rail 4, upper or hammer-spring rail 5, regulatingrail 6,damper 7, damper-leve r 8, damper-lever spoon 9, jack-rocker 10,jack-lifter l2, and key-lever K, all of which may be of any suitableconstruction and organization, the following instru mentalities,viz: ahammer 13, having its hammer-butt lat pivoted at the lower rear endthereof to the upper end of the hammer-flange 15, secured to the centerrail 3 near the front edge thereof; a back-check 16, which may beconsistently termed a counter-check; a backcheck carrier 17, adjust-ably secured to the hammer-butt; a fastening device 17 for securingthe back-check carrier in an adj ust- .ed position; a jack 18, pivotallysupported at its lower end on the jack-flange 19, fixed to thejack-rocker 10 in the usual manner, and which jack has at the upper endthereof two independently-effective hammer-actuating faces 22 and 23,disposed at different distances, respectively, from the pivot-point ofsaid jack, and one of which may be termed a primary actuating-face andthe other a secondary or repeating face; areturne ing device 20, fixedto the upper end of the jack and cooperating with the back-check 16 foraccelerating the return movement of the hammer, back-check, and jack,and a jackregulator 21, adjnstably mounted in the jackregulating rail 6,and which may be of any suitable or well-known construction.

The jack 18, which is constructed to effect a long and short jackoperation, and which on account of its functions will be herein referredto as a duplex repeatingjack, has at the working end thereof twosuccessively effective hammer butt actuating faces 22 and 23,respectively, disposed, preferably, in different horizontal planes, and,as before stated, at different distances from the pivot-point 18 of saidjack, the one 22, which may be of any desired construction other thanconcaved, and which is located at the greater distance from thepivotpoint, being so constructed and so disposed with respect to theworking face of the hammer-butt as to be in positive contact with thehammer-butt when the hammer is in its retracted position and alsothroughout the greater portion of the working stroke of the hammer andkey-lever, and the secondary or repeating actuating-face of the jackbeing concaved and so disposed with respect to the working face of thehammer-butt as to be brought into effective engagement with saidhammer-butt just preceding the striking of the hammer against the string2 and facilitating a slight return movement of the hammer after itstrikes the string or while the key is in an approximate full-strokeposition. The hammer-butt 14: has a shoulder 14' at the lower front endthereof which is eonvexed to coincide with and fit into the concavity ofthe secondary or repeating face 23 of the jack, the concaved face of thejack and the .convexed shoulder of the hammer-butt being eccentric tothe pivot-point of said hammer-butt,this shoulder being usually coveredwith felt in any suitable manner and being so disposed that when thejack, key, and hammer are in position for rapid repetition said shoulder14 will rest snugly against the repeating-face 23 of said jack. Inoperation the two ham mer-actuating faces 22 and 23, one or the other ofwhich is in working engagement with the hammer-butt according to theposition of said hammer and key-lever, are brought by a depression ofthe key-lever K successively into contact with the shoulder or face 11'of the hammer-butt, the primary actuating-face 22 first acting upon thehammer-butt to throw the hammer forcibly against the string 2 and thesecondary hammer-actuating face 23 being brought into cooperativerelation with said face 1 1 just before the hammer strikes the string,permitting a slight return movement of the hammer while the key-lever isin a full-stroke position, and thus facilitating rapid repetitions ofthe stroke of the hammer on slight vibratory movements of the key-lever.In the present action the working end. of the jack is at all times inposition to effect an immediate response of the hammer on the slightestmovement or action of the key, one or the other of the hammer-actuatingfaces 22 or 23 being in positive engagement with the hammer-butt, thusobviating lost motion, due to the throwing off of the working end of thejack from the hammer-butt on the full stroke of the key, as in uprightactions of ordinary well-known constructions.

The primary hammer-actuating face 22 is so disposed with respect to thepivotal point 18' of the jack that when the key and hammer are in theirnormal or initial position said face 22 will act through the firstportion of the stroke of the key to throw the hammer forcibly againstthe string, said face remaining in contact with the hammer-butt untilthe hammer is in close proximity to the string and until theangularly-disposed arm 18 at the lower end of the jack is brought intocontact with the jack-regulator 21, at which time the primaryactuating-face 22 is carried forward out of effective engagement withthe shoulder 14: of the hammer-butt and the secondary actuating face 28is immediately brought into cooperative relation and into effectiveengagement with said shoulder 11- and in position where slight rapiddepressions of the key will effect rapid repetitions of the stroke ofthe hammer. In the present instance the jack 18 has its upper workingend flared or of greater width than the main body portion or stem ofsaid jack and the primary actuating-face 22 is shown as a teat orprojection located at the extreme upper end of the jack substantially inalinement with the longitudinal axis and approximately midway betweenthe front and rear faces of said jack, and the front face 18 of theworking end of said jack is disposed oblique to the longitudinal axis ofsaid jack for a purpose hereinafter more fully described.

The oblique face 18 of the jack,which may be consistently termed theback-check-engaging face, and the upper working end of the jack are inpractice covered with some flexible material, such as felt, and asindicated in the accompanying drawings.

As a means for limiting the forward movement of the jack and forpreventing the disengagement of said jack from the hammerbutt and alsofor blocking the return movement of the hammer from its repeatingposition (shown in Fig. 3) until the key is fully released, I haveprovided a back-check 16, having a felt-covered inclined inner orworking face 10, which cooperates with the inclined or oblique face 18of the jack when the jack and hammer are in the position shown in Fig.3,and as a simple and convenient means for supporting said back-check andfor facilitating an adjustment thereof with relation to the jack andhammer-butt I have provided a back-check carrier 17 and acarrier-fastening device 17, which latter cooperates with said carrierfor locking the same, together with the back-check, in any desiredposition with respect to the jack. The bacle check carrier 17, in thepreferred form thereof shown most clearly in Fig. 3, consists of asingle piece of wire bent at 24 and 21 at different points in its lengthand substantially at right angles to form two parallel arms 25 IIO and26, respectively, disposed in the same plane and connected together by arectangularly-disposed bar 27, the arm 25 being of considerably-greaterlength than the arm 26, and both arms 25 and 26 being preferablyscrewthreaded at their extreme ends, the latter, 26, being screwed intoa horizontal opening in the front face of the back-check 1G, and theformer, 25, being adjustably seated in a smooth transverse opening inthe front face of the upper end of the hammer-butt. The fastening device17 for the back-check carrier is shown as a screw, adjustably seated ina screw-threaded opening intersecting the opening in which the arm 25 ofthe carrier is seated, the inner end of the shank of said screw engagingthe threaded end of the arm 25 of said carrier and locking said carrieragainst movement.

As a convenient means for accelerating a return movement of the hammerand jack on the release of the key I have provided, in connection withsaid jack, a returning device 20, which in the present instance is shownas a piece of wire bent at right angles intermediate its ends in theform of an L and one arm of which is screwed into the upper end of thejack somewhat in advance of the hammer-actuating face 22 and the otherarm of which extends forward over the upper face of the back-check andin position for cooperating with said upper face on the release of thejack, whereby to effect a return movement of the back-check and jack,the upper face of the back-check being for convenience indented orconcaved, as shown at 16', to form a seat for the returning device andalso for preventing accidental disarrangement of the baclccheck.

The provision of means whereby the backcheek may be adjusted in itsposition with respect to the jack and hammer-butt is a matter ofdesideratum, as it facilitates such changes in position as are renderednecessary by shrinkage and expansion of material or by the compacting ofcooperating felt faces; furthermore, by providing means whereby theback-check may be adjusted to insure positive contact with the workingend of the jack on the full stroke of the key and between said workingend and the hamm erbutt, the usual back-catch and back-catch-supportingwire may be wholly dispensed with. In my prior application noted in thepreamble of this specification I employed a pivotallysupportedback-check and means in connection therewith for adjusting the workingend of said back-check in the arc of a circle. This necessitates theemployment of a pivot in connection with the back-check and backcheckcarrier and also an adjusting device in connection with the upper end ofsaid jack and hammer-butt, and it is the intent and purpose of thepresent invention to provide a more simplified construction of backcheckand back-check carrier and at the same time secure the advantages ofadjustability.

By providing a returning device, such as hereinbefore described, I amenabled to dispense with springs commonly employed for returning thejack to its normal position. For convenience I have shown in connectionwith the hammer the usual hammer-spring 27, fixed at its upper end tothe hammer-spring rail 5 in the usual manner and bearing at its lowerfree end against the hammer-butt, whereby to exert a hammer-returningstress upon said hammer. The employment of a hammer-spring in the actionconstituting the subject-matter of this application is not necessary forthe reason that on a return movement of the key-lever the hammer will bepositively returned to its normal position through gravity due to thehammer-returning stress exerted by the weight of the jack, jack-rocker,jack-lifter, and the rear end of the key-lever upon the inner end of thejack-returning device 20, which tends to depress said hammer, togetherwith the backcheck, thus naturally causing the return movement of thehammer to its normal position.

The operation of the action, which will be readily understood by any oneskilled in the art on reference to the accompanying drawings, is asfollows: Assuming the action to be at rest or in its initial position, Ihave shown at Fig. 1, wherein the primary actuating-face 22 of the jackis in engagement with the shoulder 14 of the hammer-butt, the jack beingat its extreme rearward position,a f ull-stroke depression of the key(not shown) will forcibly throw the hammer,through the medium of thejack, jack-rocker, and jack-lifter, against the string, the secondaryhammer-actuating face of said jack coming, through the last portion ofthis movement of the hammer, into a hammer-actuating position, allowinga slight return movement of said hammer, which brings the shoulder 14:of the hammer-butt against the secondary actuating-face 23 of the jack,thus leaving the parts which control the action of the hammer inposition to secure rapid repetition in the stroke of the hammer onslight release and depressions of the key, the working faces of thejack, as before stated, being at all times-that is, one or the other ofthemin actuating contact with the hammer-butt for the reason that therecan be no lost motion of the jack, as on the full stroke of the jack andhammer the jack is thrown tightly against the rear face of theback-check and positively prevents any disengagement between the workingend of the jack and hammer-butt. On a full release of the key the partsreturn to their normal positions, the jack being assisted in its returnmovement by the jack-returning device, secured to the lower end of theback-check, the button or abutment of said returning device striking thefront face of the jack on a return movement of the hammer, forcing saidjack to its normal position,at the same time the weight of the jack,jack-rocker, and jack-lifter during t cadets their descending movementbeing exerted upon the inner end of the jack-returning device andaccelerating the return movement of the hammer and connected back-check.

From the foregoing it would be obvious that springs and .other devicesheretofore employed for effecting return movements of the differentparts of the action may be wholly dispensed with, which in this art is amatter of extreme importance, as it not only lessens the cost ofmanufacturing and setting up the action, but also obviates theannoyances inherent to actions of ordinary construction, due to thebreaking of springs and resilient or reactionary part-returning devices.

By providing the hammer-butt and jack with convexed and concaved faces14: and 23, respectively, which are eccentric to the pivotpoint of saidhammer, the hammer will, when the parts are in the position shown inFig. 3, or immediately upon the engagement of the repeating-face 23 withthe hammer-butt, be positively held against movement in either directionuntil movement is imparted to the jack, thus effectually obviatingaccidental repetitions of the hammer-stroke, which are due inpianoforte-actions of ordinary construction to the non-provision ofmeans for blocking the movement of the hammer while the key is in asubstantially full-stroke position and immediately after the hammer hasstruck a string or the non-provision of means for preventing movement ofthe hammer independent of the movement of the jack.

It will be readily seen that by providing a concaved seat in the upperend of the jack and forming the working end of the hammerbutt tocoincide with and fit this seat when this working face of the hammerbutt is seated in the concaved portion of the said jack and theback-check is in engagement with the hammer-butt the hammer cannot haveany effective vibration, but on the contrary will be held substantiallystationary until movement is imparted thereto through the medium of thejack.

I claim- 1. An npright-pianoforte action embodying a hammer having ahammer-butt furnished with a shoulder at the lower end thereof; apivotally-supported jack, having at the upper end thereof twohammer-actuating faces disposed at different distances,respectively,fromthe pivotal point of said jack, and having the one whichis located atthe greatest distance from said point substantially in alinement withthe longitudinal axis of said jack; a back check connected with thehammer-butt for movement therewith, and having an inclined rear facecooperative with a correspondinglyinclined front face of the jack; aback-check carrier having two parallel arms one of which is seated forlongitudinal adjustment in an opening in the hammer-butt, and the otherof which is fixed to the back-check; a fastening device carried by thehammer-butt in position to engage the arm of the back-check carrier, forholding the same in adjusted posi tion; and'a returning device fixed tothe upper end of the jack, and cooperating with the back-check forreturning the parts to their normal positions.

2. In an upright-pianoforte action, the combination with the hammer-buttof a pivotally-' supported jack having an inclined front face; aback-check carrier adj ustably secured to the hammer-butt a back-checkmounted on said carrier and having an inclined rear face in cooperativerelation with, and corresponding to, the inclined face of the jack; anda returning device fixed to the upper end of the jack and extending overand in cooperative relation with the upper face of the back-check.

3. In an upright-pianoforte action, the com bination with thehammer-butt and with the pivotally-supported jack, of aback-checkcarrier consisting of a single piece of wire bent to form two parallelhorizontally disposed arms, connected together at their ends by avertically-disposed bar, and the upper arm of which is of greater lengththan the lower arm and has its outer end movably seated in an opening inthe hammer-butt3 a back-check adjustably secured to the lower short armof said carrier; a fastening device cooperating with the longer arm ofsaid carrier for holding the same in an adjusted position; and areturning device fixed to the upper end of the jack and having an armextending over the upper face of the back-check and operative foraccelerating the return movements of the parts to their initialpositions.

4. In an upright-pianoforte action, the combination with apivotally-supported hammerbutt, of a pivotally-supported jack having twosuccessively-effective hammer-actuating faces disposed at differentdistances, respectively, from the pivotal point of said jack and alsohaving an inclined front face near the working end thereof; a back-checkcarrier composed of a single piece of wire bent to form two parallelarms of different lengths, the longer of which is adj ustably mounted inthe hammer-butt; a back-check mounted on the shorter arm of the carrierand having an inclined face in cooperative relation with the inclinedface of the jack, and also having its upper face recessed to form a seatfor a returning device; a returning device carried at the upper end ofthe jack and having an arm adapted to enter the seat in the back-check;and a fastening device carried by the hammer-butt and in position andadapted to engage the longer arm of the back-check carrier for lockingthe same in an adjusted position.

5. An upright-pianoforte action including a pivotally-supportedhammer-butt having an outwardly-curved shoulder disposed in an arceccentric to the pivot-point of said butt; a pivotally-supportedhammer-actuating jack having a plane transverse primary actuatingfacedisposed at the extreme upper end of said jack in position to cooperatewith the hammer-butt, and also having a concaved secondaryactuating-face located in the rear of, and at a lesser distance from thepivot-point of the jack than, the primary actuating-face, and disposedin an arc of a circle eccentric to the pivot-point of the hammer-buttand in position to engage the shoulder of said ham- 1ner-butt; means foractuating said jack to bring the two actuating-faces successively intooperative engagement with the hammerbutt; and a back-checkcarried by thehammer-butt and constructed and disposed to engage the front face of thejack concurrently with the engagement of the hammer-butt shoulder andsecondary actuating-face of the jack, whereby to cooperate with saidjack for blocking the movement of the hammer.

6. In an upright-pianoforte action, the combination of a pivotedhammer-butt having an outwardly-curved shoulder at the lower front endthereof disposed in an arc eccentric to the pivot-point; a pivotedhammer-actuating jack having a primary and a secondary actuating face,the former of which is located at the extreme upper end of said jack anddisposed in a plane substantially at right angles to the longitudinalaxis of said jack; and the latter of which is inwardly curved tocoincide with the curvature of the hammer-shoulder and is located belowthe former and in position to engage the hammer-butt shoulder upon thefull depression of a key; key-operated mechanism for actuating said jackto bring the primary and secondary actuatingfaces successively intoengagement with the hammer-butt; and a back-check carried by thehammer-butt and constructed and organized to engage the front face ofthe jack concurrently with the engagement of the secondaryactuating-face with the hammer-butt, whereby to cooperate with saidsecondary face in blocking the movement of the hammer.

Signed by me at Hartford, Connecticut, this 27th day of March, A. D.1899.

LEO HERLINO BATTALIA, \Vitnesses:

E. O. WHITNEY, BENTON N. PARKER.

